TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Marvel Studios is once again leaving fans guessing after David Harbour appeared to reveal a potentially major secret from Avengers: Doomsday, as reported by The Guardian.
Harbour, who reprises his role as Alexei Shostakov, or Red Guardian, was asked by Variety to deliver a line from the upcoming film completely out of context. After briefly thinking, he adopted Red Guardian's Russian accent and said: “You are... Tony Stark.”
The line immediately raised eyebrows because Robert Downey Jr. is set to return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Avengers: Doomsday, but not as Tony Stark or Iron Man. Downey is playing Victor von Doom, the iconic Marvel villain also known as Doctor Doom.
That leaves the obvious question: Why would Harbour's character call someone Tony Stark?
Is Tony Stark Really Back?
The simplest explanation is that Harbour was joking or deliberately trolling fans. Marvel has gone to extraordinary lengths to keep its biggest Avengers: Doomsday secrets under wraps, making it difficult to determine whether the actor genuinely revealed a plot detail.
The film's latest trailer appears to reinforce Marvel's official story. It presents Downey's character as Victor von Doom, explores the villain's background and gives no obvious indication that the man beneath Doom's mask is anyone other than Downey.
Yet that has not stopped fans from searching for clues.
According to The Guardian, some viewers have pointed out that a close-up of Doom in the trailer appears to show blue eyes rather than Downey's brown eyes. Others have noticed subtle differences between the Doom costume displayed at Disney's D23 event and the version shown at San Diego Comic-Con.
Those details have fueled theories that Doomsday could feature more than one version of the character, with Downey's Doom potentially being replaced or killed by another incarnation.
One popular theory has even linked the mystery to Cillian Murphy, who has long been a fan-favorite choice to play Doctor Doom and has blue eyes. However, there is no confirmation that Murphy is involved in the film.
Fans Speculate on Reddit
Harbour's comment has sparked a wave of speculation among Marvel fans on Reddit, with theories ranging from a simple case of mistaken identity to a major multiverse twist.
Digital Spy wrote that some fans suggested that Red Guardian could see Doom without his mask and mistake him for Tony Stark. Others believe Doom could be a variant of Stark from another universe.
One theory suggests that Doom could even take over Stark's body, echoing the multiverse and dreamwalking concepts introduced in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Another fan speculated that Doom could exploit his resemblance to Stark to manipulate the Avengers, perhaps by appearing at Stark's funeral or using his likeness to gain their trust.
Some Reddit users, however, suspect Harbour's comment was not an accidental spoiler at all. One theory suggested that Marvel may have deliberately allowed the actor to say the line because it does not actually reveal the film's biggest secret.
None of the theories has been confirmed by Marvel.
Marvel's Long History of Keeping Secrets
Harbour's comment is particularly intriguing because Marvel has a long history of tightly controlling spoilers. Andrew Garfield famously denied appearing in Spider-Man: No Way Home despite eventually returning as an alternate Spider-Man alongside Tobey Maguire.
Marvel executives and directors have also suggested that the explanation for Downey's casting as Doom will make sense within the story.
The studio could ultimately reveal that Doom simply resembles Stark and that the resemblance is used as a plot device. Harbour's line could then be nothing more than Red Guardian mistaking Doom for his former ally.
Whatever the explanation, the comment has added another layer of mystery to Avengers: Doomsday. With Downey Jr. playing Doom and Tony Stark presumed dead after Avengers: Endgame, Marvel still has to explain why the two characters look identical while keeping the real answer hidden until the film arrives.
Avengers: Doomsday is scheduled to hit theaters on December 18, 2026.
